President Barack Obama today approved the state of Texas’ request to declare a “major disaster” in the aftermath of the deadly blast in West, clearing the way for federal dollars and staff assistance to the hard-hit town.

Obama’s announcement amounted to a reversal of an earlier rejection of Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s request for a White House “major disaster” declaration for West.

Perry one-upped the administration by releasing his reaction to the announcement before the White House even issued the order.

Here’s Perry’s statement:

“The approval of the state’s appeal for a major disaster declaration is great and welcome news for the people of West. I appreciate everyone who joined me in standing with the people whose lives have been forever impacted to move this appeal forward, especially our congressional delegation. This, along with the disaster relief funding provided by the Texas Legislature, will help this community rebuild their infrastructure, school district and public works as quickly as possible.”

Members of the Texas congressional delegation have written letters to the president over the past three months, urging him to send aid to the areas surrounding the fatal blast.

The White House told Texas on the Potomac that W. Craig Fugate, the administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, had named Kevin L. Hannes as the Federal Coordinating Officer for federal recovery operations in the affected area.

The presidential declaration formally confirmed that “a major disaster exists in the State of Texas and ordered federal aid to supplement state and local recovery efforts in the area affected by an explosion during the period of April 17-20, 2013.”

According to the White House, “Federal funding is available to state and eligible local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations on a cost-sharing basis for emergency work and the repair or replacement of facilities damaged by the explosion in McLennan County.”

The action follows by one day an executive order seeking to improve federal coordination and information-sharing in the aftermath of chemical plant disasters. The disaster declaration today means that federal funding is available “for hazard mitigation measures statewide,” with costs shared by Texas and the federal government.

Texas Rep. Bill Flores, R-Stratford, released a statement in support of the declaration, saying that though he disagrees with the president, he stands in full support of the action being taken.

“Today, the president honored his commitment to West and approved the major disaster declaration which provides funding for Public Assistance under the Stafford Act,” Flores said. “While I often disagree with President Obama on many issues, I applaud this decision to support this Central Texas community’s efforts to rebuild and to recover.”

However, Flores did note that FEMA assistance was needed far before the president signed the declaration.

“There is no good reason it took this long. I don’t know why it did,” he said. “There can be no good reason. There are people living in cars there. It’s unacceptable.”